LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — James Bolus and Matt Mark own Backwoods Bar & Kitchen in Franklin Township.
They started the restaurant in March in Luzerne County's Back Mountain and say it's been anything but easy since because of the pandemic.
"Such a wild thing that's happening," Bolus said. "We always thought that we were kind of untouchable, you know? We always felt like restaurants were kind of recession-proof because it's something that everybody always wanted, so it's just crazy to see people not coming out to eat, and being afraid to come hang out at our new establishment, and especially being a new restaurant. We didn't expect to come in into this,"
The owners learned on Thursday that their holiday season was going to be even tougher than expected as Governor Wolf shut down indoor dining until January 4.
"We thought it was the worst back in March," Mark said, "when they cut down our capacity, and now I mean, now it's wintertime, and there's no indoor seating, so now I'd say it's the worst for us."
Folks at Backwoods Bar & Kitchen spent much of the last week putting up Christmas decorations, and they're disappointed that folks won't be able to come in and see them, but they're more disappointed about what this three-week shutdown means for the wait staff.
"Server staff, we have to cut back. We don't want to. I love all our employees here. They're great. They work hard. They're passionate about being here. But like I said, it has to in order to get lean and mean, you got to do what you got to do, and it's tough. You hate to see it," Mark said.
The owners will also be adding more options to their menu and delivery — things like lunch, holiday platters, and even full meals to try to keep money coming in to survive the shutdown.
"We're just trying to do things appeal to our community and just giving new outlets to try and sustain our business, as well as support our community," Bolus added.